A/N: I felt WhiteRose in my bones and I had to write it. Trying to practice more world-building and dialogue. Based on a prompt that says "Person A first meets Person B because Person B walked straight into a sign/pole/etc"
Weiss Schnee had just moved to the Kingdom of Vale just shy of a month ago, although nothing of it excited her. She had been constantly moving since she was young due to her father's business, living in houses for only a couple of years before they'd have to move again. This time though, Weiss was the one to move on her own will, wanting to make her own name and not be tied down to the family name that her father has run into the ground by the man's poor decisions.
The place that Weiss called 'home' was a simple one-bedroom apartment with a bathroom, a balcony, and a small kitchen in the front. The rooms were quite drab, yet that comforted Weiss. The apartment looked lived-in, a warmth lingered in the weathered walls, lightly scratched countertops, and even the rust stains out on the balcony where a metal chair clearly used to sit. The apartment was lightly furnished, containing a bed frame, a standard grey couch, a worn-out dresser, a stove, and a standard-sized fridge with a built-in small freezer.
For the past month, Weiss had been sleeping atop the couch and had kept her clothes in her suitcases, god knows what could be lurking inside the very worn-out dresser and she rather not find out. She had only brought with her two suitcases, one mostly containing her clothing while the other was her personal belongings. She had additionally brought one of her grandfather's personal belongings, as she was the one to inherit it. A rapier that her grandfather had forged himself, a project he was proud of, a project that she admired, was now hers as stated in his will before he passed of old age. The wise man was more a father to her than her own father, she loved him with all her heart. She was adept at placing some upgrades in her rapier, never as good as him, yet she could only dream.
A few chirps outside the balcony soon turned into a song as the sun rose and broke the night sky into a morning glow. Weiss always had the talent to wake up right at the moment the sun peaked its way above the horizon, as though she was the sun itself. Stretching, Weiss padded her way to the kitchen and got a kettle of water going on the stove. While the water was boiling, she slowly maneuvered herself to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, not wanting to ruin a cup of tea with the taste of sleep in her mouth.
It was around 7:30 am when Weiss left her apartment to walk to the school campus that was a few blocks away. She had opted to walk the fifteen to twenty minutes; getting a bit of cardio and to see what the kingdom had to offer. Weiss was determined to make it on her own, to learn her way in the real world that wasn't surrounded by the looming presence of her family name.
Luckily today was Friday which is why after classes today she was going into the nearby shopping district to find a job and hopefully find a furniture shop so she could finally stop sleeping on a couch. Weiss wanted honest work and to earn her own money, as she did not want to touch the money that she had in her savings account, only using the money that her sister and mother had given her to help with her rent and furnishing.
Beacon University was a school that was known for its diversity of students from all walks of life, exceptionally high acceptance rates and exceptionally high performance in all academic standards. Beacon University also had many scholarships for many programs, such as writing, sports, Faunus studies, and financial studies. Luckily having been born in a family of entrepreneurs, Weiss had gotten into Beacon through a financial studies scholarship.
Weiss had a dream since she was young to make her own business, not one that aims to hoard money, but just a small business she could be proud of, which is why a business degree was what she was here for. Her schedule was simple, classes from 10 am to 3 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays; 8 am to 1 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Walking into her class alone, she admired the view of the University and how many groups of people there were. Weiss was not very sociable, having to move every two to three years made her stop trying to make friends, knowing that she'll have to leave them. She was slightly jealous of how people made friends so quickly yet she knew she was the one to blame. She pushed herself far away from others, too scared to even try.
As Weiss opened the door to one of her classes, she spotted one girl that sat adjacent to her. The girl had a messy yet slightly spiky red-tinted black hair, a red hoodie that was clearly too big for her and drool coming out of the corner of her mouth as she napped at her seat. Weiss suppressed a small chuckle at this girl, it wasn't even a month into the semester and this small girl has already resorted to sleeping at the school. Weiss chose to leave the girl be as she got ready for the first class in her schedule, slipping one more glance and chuckling again.
As the lecture of her second class bored on, Weiss rested her chin on her hand. Slipping a glance at her phone, she realized she had a few text messages from her sister. Nothing important, just messages telling Weiss that she misses her and wishes she is doing well. Her sister was never someone that spoke her emotions well, heck, no one in this whole family was. Yet a small gesture like this was enough to bring a smile to Weiss. She missed home, yes, but it wouldn't stop her journey short.
The clock finally struck 12:30 pm and the English professor of her fourth and final class of the day gave out one last lecture.
"Now students, there will be a paper due at the end of this semester that will be worth a third of your grade." The classroom moaned, dreading having such an important paper to be worth so much of their grade.
"Everyone here is in their first year and you will all experience new things that you'd never thought could occur, write about it. Your end of year assignment is an essay about your journey starting from today. There's always something new to learn out there, students. You mustn't be afraid of adventure." With the last sentence said, the classroom slowly started to filter out into the hallways. Weiss longed to stay behind in these busy halls and find someone like-minded and strike a friendship with, yet a fear held her back from doing so.
"Never mind this, I should be focused on getting a job. Friends will only cause me to be distracted," she muttered to herself, trying to convince herself that it was better to be alone.
Weiss weaved her way in and out of the busy University halls, walking fast enough to look like she was running, but slow enough that she could hear conversations of the people she passed. One voice caught her ear the most, yet she couldn't see who it was.
"Aw man! I can't believe Professor's Port assignment is going to weigh THAT much! What if I fail it? Am I going to have to go back home in shame? Dad's going to KILL me!" the voice cried
A different voice answered, "Listen, it's not going to be that bad! You've gotten the top scores on every single essay in every single class in high school so far. What's making you scared of this one?"
"This is University! They only want the BEST! And I'm just...I'm just me?! I'm nothing special! This essay is about things you learn through your first year of University! Unlike you, I never go anywhere. I don't do anything. All I do is stay at home! I can't write about that!"
"Maybe we can change that, this Kingdom is huge! There's bound to be somewhere you can go, let's check them out after our other classes."
The two voices were out of earshot the moment Weiss got to the front gates of the school, curious, Weiss turned around to see if she could find the two voices she heard earlier. After looking around her for a few moments, she gave up.
"They sounded like classmates; I wonder who they were."
Weiss walked into her apartment after getting back from school, opting to change into something more formal than what she wore to school to make a good impression on anyone who was hiring. Glancing at the clock which showed that it was around 1:30, she figured she could eat something light in town for lunch as well.
"Hmm..." Weiss stared long and hard at all the shops that surrounded her, unsure which one to go into first. An anxiousness started creeping into her spine, telling her it's better to just go home rather than be surrounded by so many people she did not know.
"No! I can't give up yet!" She took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled and made her way into the first shop in sight, a coffee shop.
The bell that hung atop the dark wooden door rang with a crispness, like crystal. The setting inside the shop stunned Weiss, the walls were a warm tan, there were booths along the walls to her sides adorn with dark wooden tables and black seats. The lighting was a warm yellow tint, making the entire room cozy. A few more tables occupied the empty spaces between the door and the front counter where a dark-haired woman stood wearing a tan apron atop her simple black dress.
"Welcome to the Belladonna Café, what can I do for you? The woman spoke in a warm yet confident voice.
Weiss forgot how to articulate her words, forgot the entire English language. She had been caught off guard by the beauty of the café that she totally forgot that there was someone speaking to her.
"Y-Yes! I! I am looking for a job?" Weiss wanted to go home.
"A job?" The woman asked as if she was unsure that that was what Weiss actually wanted.
"Yes, I have just moved into the Kingdom. I was looking for a part-time job since I am attending University. Is this, not a good time?" Weiss' cheeks flushed, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh, dearie, why didn't you say so? We were, in fact, looking to train someone to help us. Is a barista position okay with you?"
"Oh! Anything is fine ma'am. I just..." Weiss' excitement deflated. "I have no experience".
The woman chuckled, "No worries, we can train you, It's not too hard. Plus, we aren't very far from the University. That is if you are comfortable with it?"
"I'd love to have a job here, it made me feel at peace when I walked in."
"Well then, how about you and I grab a seat at the counter and discuss this over a cup of coffee?"
"I'd be glad to!"
After an hour of speaking to the woman, who turned out to be Mrs. Belladonna, the owner of the business, Weiss felt relieved. She accepted the job offer and started to make a schedule with Mrs. Belladonna. The Café opened up at 6 am and closed at 9 pm every day, meaning Weiss could pick her own hours to accommodate school and studying hours. She'd start work the following Monday after school until 7 pm.
"Alright Weiss, I'll see you on Monday. We do not have a strict uniform, but it'll be best if you wear a black shirt."
Confused, Weiss tilted her head.
"Unless you'd like to have stains on your shirts dearie" Mrs. Belladonna gave a teasing wink.
"Oh, you need not worry Mrs. Belladonna, I'll try not to make many mistakes" Weiss chuckled.
With a final wave, Weiss walked out the door into the sidewalks of Vale again. After a few moments of walking, she saw a flash of red from the corner of her eye.
'I wonder if it's the girl from my class' Weiss pondered as she looked to her right, seeing the girl on her phone furiously typing on it.
"I can't believe she left me out here on my own!" the smaller girl grumbled under her breath.
Looking ahead of the girl, Weiss saw that she was going to walk right into something and tried to warn. "Wait! Look out!"
The girl in red took a second to twirl her head around to see the voice that called out to her, completely ignoring the warning that was given to her "Wha-".
A ringing sound echoed into the streets of Vale, clearer than the crystal bell of the Belladonna Café, was followed by the sound of a body slumping onto the ground.
Weiss winced, by the sound of that, the girl was probably in a lot of pain. She rushed to the girl's side.
"Are you...okay?" Weiss tried not to laugh as she processed what she had actually witnessed. A girl, busy on her phone, walks straight into a street lamp. Causing an echo to be heard across the whole street. Did this girl have a hard head or did she give herself a concussion?
"Honestly, no." The smaller girl said while cradling her head in her hands. "Can you help me up please?"
"Sure, how about we get some ice for you too. Come with me."
Weiss held her hand out to the poor girl on the floor and she was surprised at the feel of this girl's hand in hers. For a small girl, her hands were strong and had callouses and scars. With a firm grip on Weiss' hand, she allowed Weiss to lead the way.
This would be the second time in one hour that Weiss had stepped into the Belladonna Café, shaking her head she pushed past the door yet this time greeted by a different voice.
"Oh my goodness Rubes? What happened?" A familiar voice rang out from the counter area.
"Don't worry I'll go get some ice, I can see that bruise forming from a mile away" a new voice called, sounding calm yet urgent.
"Urgh, Yang, I'm blaming this on you" the girl who was leaning on Weiss called out.
Yang let out a burst of booming laughter, "Don't tell me you were focused on your phone and ran into another street light again did you? No wonder Blake knew what to do."
Blake returned and walked over to Weiss, who had the most bewildered expression on her face.
"Don't worry, my name is Blake and that loudmouth over there is Yang." there was a small "Hey!" from the counter. "The girl who is with you is Ruby, Yang's younger sister, thank you so much for helping her out," Blake said calmly with elegance to her voice as she helped get Ruby into a booth with an ice pack on her head.
Weiss once again was put in the spotlight, "Ah, yes. My name is Weiss. I just moved into the Kingdom, pardon my intrusion."
"Oh! You sit across from me in a few of my classes, I've always wanted to say hi, but you always leave the classroom so fast." Ruby said softly, trying not to irritate the headache she had.
"Oh." Weiss let out softly "My apologies, I'm unsure how to make friends, I didn't notice."
"It's alright Weiss, with Ruby's beautiful performance today, I'm sure your first impression of her is amazing." Yang let out a chuckle that was soon joined by Blake.
Ruby moaned "Don't make fun of the hurt!"
Weiss let out a small chuckle "Don't worry Ruby, my first impression of you wasn't based on you walking into the pole."
Ruby, clearly amused, asked "Oh? What was it based on?"
Weiss smirked, "You drooling on your own desk before the first lecture of the day even started."
Laughter erupted from the trio; Ruby's groan ignored.
"I like you Weiss, welcome to the team." Yang smiled extending out a hand, which Weiss grasped, surprised by the strength of it.
"My pleasure," Weiss gripped back harder and looked over to Ruby "Looks like our first year in University is going to be full of adventure huh?"
Ruby's cheeks pinkened slightly "You sure are right Weiss."
A/N: Hey again, it has been a while since I wrote anything. Thank you for everyone who had given me encouraging words. I do not know why but writing is hard for me, I've never been confident in it, but I want to keep trying. To everyone who has read my fics: Thank you. I appreciate all of you. I'll keep writing and periodically publish some here and there. Thank you all again.
Edit: I added some extra detail WHOOPS